Hi All,
Today we began by visiting Kirklington church, where there is a vault containing Wandesforde ancestors. One of them, Christopher Wandesforde, was the father of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and his splendid tomb has an image of him holding a shield with the Wandesforde coat of arms, a rampant blue lion, see attached. There is also a memorial stained glass to a Wandesforde who died in the first war.
We then went to find Kirklington Hall, where Alice Wandesforde was born in the early 17th?century. It is very impressive, we met the current tenant who told us that the house is still owned by the Wandesforde family, and they also own half the village properties and land all round. The house was built in the 16th?century.
We then drove to Stonegrave, where the 8th?century foundation church is filled with tombs and memorials to the Combers and Thorntons, all ancestors. I am attaching an image of one of the early Thornton tombs.
Then, we drove to Castle Howard, scene of the filming of Brideshead Revisited, but didn?t go into the castle because of time issues. We arrived at about 4.00 pm for tea with John Willcox and his wife, Pauline. John was Oxford captain against us in 1961, and was also in Richard?s Oxford team in 1959. He played 18 times for England and for the British Lions in South Africa, and it was a very convivial and pleasant two hours before we returned to Richmond.
Charles Higham
